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Sunday, October 28, 2012

A few weeks ago when I blogged about my Mod Christmas wallhanging, I had a request for a tutorial. It's taken me some time to put this together, but better late than never, right? This is the process that I used to create both the Mod Christmas and my mini quilt from the Dresden Challenge. It will be apparent in a bit just how I created the two separate looks.

Paper Pattern Pieces for the background (see below - let me know if you have any questions or troubles downloading the files)Edited to add: Paper Pattern Pieces can also be found here.It has come to my attention that people are unable to download through Scribd without paying for a membership. You can now find the needed templates here in my craftsy shop. The files are FREE to download! Please do not share the downloads, but rather direct others to my Craftsy shop and/or my blog. Thanks!!

*Using the EZ Dresden Ruler, my Dresden Plates each contain 20 wedges. The template that you use will dictate how many wedges you will need per plate. See the instructions included with your template.

To create the paper pattern piece for the background, download the 3 PDF files from Craftsy, print each piece at 100%, and piece the templates together along the dashed lines. (More details below.) I can not guarantee that this template will fit your dresden plate unless you use the EZ Dresden Ruler that I used.

I am using a charm pack of Little Apples and Kona in Ash for my Modern Dresden Plate.

I chose 20 charms from my charm pack - because I was using a light grey background, I left out the grey charms. I like the look of this design when there is contrast between the prints and the background.

From your background fabric, cut 40 3"x5" pieces. If you want the wonky look of the Mod Christmas mini, you will need to cut these pieces larger; 5" square should be large enough.

Now trim your charm squares by cutting 2 parallel edges of each charm (the width of the charms should remain uncut at 5"). Cut the charms to several different sizes - variety creates visual interest! Don't cut any charms smaller than 2.5"x5", though.
* For the Mod Christmas quilt, I cut the edges at odd angles. I didn't measure anything, I just laid down my ruler however I liked and cut a clean edge with my rotary cutter.
* For the mini quilt that I entered in the Dresden Challenge, I cut my charm squares so that the 2 cut edges were parallel.
How you cut these edges will dictate how your finished Modern Dresden Plate looks!
The arrows in the picture below indicate the 2 parallel edges that I cut.

Now piece a 3"x5" rectangle to either end of each charm, along the edges that you just trimmed. Press your seams; I like to press my seams open.

Now cut your wedges! If you chose to cut your charms wonky, there will be no seams to line up. If you cut your charms straight, use the lines on your wedge ruler to ensure that you cut the wedges straight. Try not to cut every wedge the same way - again, variety creates visual interest!

To cut this wedge, I aligned the 6" mark on my ruler with the top seam of my piecing. See the arrow below:

When all of your wedges are cut, piece them into a ring.

Now we will need to create the paper template for the background. If you're not comfortable sewing a curve, you could applique the dresden plate onto a piece of background fabric. Below I've included instructions for piecing the dresden plate.

Print the 3 pieces for your template. Be sure to print them through Adobe Acrobat, and print at 100%. I can't ensure that the pieces will be the correct size if they are printed another way.

Now, piece the template together along the dashed lines. At this point, the long edges of the template should measure approximately 10 1/2" - 10 5/8". If your template is a different size, check your printer settings.

Cut 4 pieces of background fabric using your paper template. Piece these 4 pieces together along the short ends.

Here's where we will piece the circle. It's not hard to do, but it is very helpful to pin A LOT and sew slowly!

Lay the dresden plate down on a flat surface, right side up. Lay the background piece, also right side up, on top of the dresden plate. Align the 4 seams of the background piece with 4 seams on the dresden plate.

The arrow in the following picture indicates where I aligned the seam on my background piece with a seam on the dresden plate.

Now turn the edge of the background piece so that the ridge side is facing the dresden plate and pin in place. Begin by pinning at the 4 seams, and then ease the rest of the circle into place. I like to pin at all 20 seams along the dresden plate.

Here is my piece after I pinned all of the way around the plate:

To sew the curve, begin at one of the pins. Slowly sew using a 1/4" seam from one pin to the next, keeping the raw edges of the dresden plate and the background fabric even. I like to use the "needle down" function on my machine. You are essentially sewing 20 straight lines, which will result in a full circle!

Press this seam to the background fabric.

To finish the inner edge of the dresden plate, I like to use applique. For this tutorial (and on the Mod Christmas mini), I used a piece of background fabric. You could also use a charm square for this.
Cut a piece of my background at 5" square, or use a left over charm square.
Press the raw edge of the inner edge of the dresden plate under by 1/4".
Place the 5" square, right side up, under the dresden plate and pin around the turned edge.

Sew a straight stitch close to the turned edge.

You've completed your first Modern Dresden Plate! Piece several of these blocks together to create a larger quilt, or baste and quilt a single block to create a mini quilt. If you use this tutorial, I hope you'll share your creations! Feel free to add pictures to the flickr group.

I finished this block with some outline quilting and added an envelope closure and some binding to create a 20" pillow. I think this pillow would be a great addition to a child's reading nook!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Have I mentioned that I have a ton of sewing to do for my sister's wedding? Well, I do. And as a true procrastinator, I decided to start a new project in lieu of working on the wedding quilt.

A few days ago Elizabeth posted her technique for creating patchwork panels, as she used in her Weekender Bag. I've been itching to make a patchwork tote lately, so I tossed aside my sewing obligations and started digging through my stash! I didn't have large enough pieces of Cotton Duck Canvas, but I do have a ton of hymo canvas (also known as haircanvas). Hymo canvas is typically used to add shape to outerwear pieces, but I've also read that it has been used in handbags. And while it's not an inexpensive supply, I don't have any plans to use it - so I cut into my yardage for this tote!

I absolutely L.O.V.E. everything about this bag. At 14" tall, 11" wide, and 3" deep, it's a great size and shape, and the 25" long straps make the tote easy to carry.The hymo canvas gives the tote a lot of structure without adding ANY stiffness.

For my quilting and construction, I used a slightly different style than Elizabeth. I pieced my tote panels using the hymo canvas and a layer of cotton batting as a foundation (very similar to how I piece my scrap blocks). After my panels were pieced, I quilted them with very dense organic lines.

The two sides of the tote are unique.

When I first started this project, I knew the approximate size and shape that I wanted for the finished tote. The dense quilting took quite awhile, during which time I started to think more about the construction. I decided to try a new (to me) style by folding the top of the tote down by 2". I attached the straps inside the tote as well, so that they appeared to be seamless from the outside.

To further secure the straps to the tote, I added metal rivets. They are visible from inside:

And on the exterior of the tote:

You may see a few more of these totes around here soon. I have enough hymo canvas for 3 more totes, I think. After that, I may have to look into a reasonably priced source to purchase more!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

I have two more totes to share with you, both sewn up by my awesome pattern-testing friends! The first tote was made by Meaghan, who I met through blogging and got to hang out with IRL last year when we lived in Seattle!
I think this picture is a good representation as to the size of the tote. It is a great large size without looking huge.

Meaghan used home dec fabric, which gives the tote a bit of structure. I love the structured look! And that blue accent print reminds me of starfish. Perfect for a trip to the beach. :)

Michelle also pattern tested for me. I haven't met Michelle IRL, but she's always so sweet when we email back and forth! Maybe some time I'll find myself in her neck of the woods and we'll have a chance to meet up in person. :)
Michelle used a really cute elephant print for her tote exterior. She also chose to fold down the front pocket (which she pieced! how fun!) so that a bit more of the elephant print would show. I love that she added a button where she folded down the pocket!

I hadn't thought to use a coordinating print on the sides of the bag, but I really like this look. Michelle showed me three design possibilities that I hadn't even thought of!

I also wanted to show off Michelle's interior zip pocket. This was the first time she had done this technique, and it looks great! She also chose to use a traditional magnetic snap for her closure. In the pattern I include detailed instructions for adding a sew-in magnet and some basic instructions for a traditional magnet or velcro.

Friday, October 19, 2012

I volunteered to make a quilt for a benefit recently. I actually thought that I had a quilt finished and ready to donate, but the quilt that I had in mind wasn't really in proper condition to donate. (It was a red and white quilt that I finished awhile back. After I finished it, I washed it and put it away to store it. The reds had bled into the whites in the wash, but I didn't notice it until recently!)
I had a lot of other projects going on, so I let a few ideas roll around in my mind for a bit while I worked on other things. One night I realized that I had quite a few HSTs left over from another quilt (which I haven't finished yet, but I'll share as soon as it's done!).

Within an hour or so I had the HSTs sewn into this top!

It's a lot of fun to play with color value! The other quilt I'm working on has a different look to it, but I couldn't resist the simple, stunning effect of this layout.

With the top done, I set it aside to think about how to quilt it. I think I set it aside for a bit too long, because suddenly I realized that I had a week to finish the quilt and ship it to Illinois. Plus there was a 3-weekend with no mail delivery!

I started out with a free motion quilt design that I found in Angela Walter's book, but I didn't feel like it flowed with the quilt top. I had less than 1/6 of the quilt done, but it still took me several hours to pick out the stitching!

I ultimately went with straight line quilting, which was my first instinct all along... I chose a purple variegated thread for the quilting, but with less than half of the quilt done, I ran out! At this point I just wanted to finish the quilt and send it off, so I decided to simply finish with another color thread. I had a pink variegated thread, which was the same brand and style as the purple, so I chose that.
Just when I thought I'd never finish this quilt, I ran out of thread AGAIN! By this time I was actually laughing out loud. I had yet another variegated thread in my stash (this one was green, and a different brand), so I pulled that out. I figured that by changing thread colors twice, it would look more intentional. Right?
In this picture you can kind of see that there are different colors of thread.

Here's another shot showing the different threads:

I was able to finish the quilting without running out of green thread (victory!). For the back of the quilt I chose an ikat print by Amy Butler and a blue print from my stash (sorry, I have no clue of the designer!). The blue print worked out really well for binding, too. I'm really happy with how well these two prints play with the Kaffe Fassett prints!

Here's a close up of the two backing prints:

How fabulous is this ikat? I love it!

I'm happy to report that the quilt did make it to Illinois in time for the benefit. I'm not sure how much money the quilt itself raised, but I do know that the benefit raised a bit of money to help a friend of a friend with her cancer treatments. It was quite a rush to finish this project, especially with all of the other sewing I had going on, but I'm so glad I could be involved in this event!

Finished size is 36" x 41"
Prints are mostly Kaffe Fassett with a few Brandon Mably prints.
Backing is an ikat print by Amy Butler and an unknown print from my stash.
Straight line quilting in several thread colors. ;) Purple and pink are Signature threads, the green is Wonderfil.

Monday, October 15, 2012

My blog post about the bag brought in a ton of positive feedback, and even a custom bag order:

With a little more free time now that Addy is in school, and lots of support from some great friends, I finally have the pattern ready for purchase! You can find it here, in my Etsy shop.

The pattern includes:
Tips for sewing with laminates
Detailed instructions with color photos for every step, including an interior zip pocket and a sew-in magnetic snap closure
No pattern pieces! All pieces can be cut with a rotary cutter, ruler and mat!

The bag includes a large exterior split pocket, which is a great place to showcase a fun fabric.
The 28" straps are long enough to easily carry the tote on your shoulder.
The accent panels along the bottom of the bag not only add personality, but also durability. Laminate fabric is a great choice for easy clean-up!
Inside, the tote has a large zip pocket. It is so easy to install, and a great detail in a bag.

Have fun creating your own Market Square Tote, and be sure to add your pictures to the flickr group! As always, feel free to email me or post on flickr with any questions. I can't wait to see what you create!

A huge thanks to everyone who has helped me finish my first pattern! Later this week I'll share some pictures of the bags made by my fabulous pattern testers.